How to Cope with Grief

When someone you love dies, feelings of hurt, loneliness and sadness are normal. The following suggestions may help you identify your feelings of sadness and help you heal from a loss.

Learn more about what anxiety is and get tips on how to lessen its effect on your everyday life.

Grief is a natural response to loss, and feelings of loss can be compounded during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Survivors of public tragedies and natural disasters typically display a range of emotional, physical and cognitive reactions in the aftermath of the event. Understanding the reactions can help with grief.

If you find your grief or depression are spiraling out of control, talk to your doctor or seek the help of a mental health professional, either through counseling, medication or a combination of both.

There are no scripts about how to grieve or how long to grieve. But all people who experience a significant loss share a range of common emotions and feelings.

You may feel incomplete or “less than” without your loved one. If he or she made you feel special and loved, you may not feel those things now. There are ways to rebuild yourself.

Embracing the painful reality does not happen quickly or easily, and it can be exhausting. When the loss finally sinks in, it can be surrounded by profound sadness and other emotions. Can you ever accept the loss?

After the death of a loved one, families are faced with sudden changes and a staggering amount of details involved in making final arrangements. Review this list and see how hospice can help.

Following the death of a loved one, people experience physical symptoms which can last days, months or years. Here are some of the common symptoms of grief.

Even if your grief is different, it’s still grief, and you have a right to grieve. You have a right to feel better eventually.

Any time you stop and think of them—you honor them. If you'd like to do something more tangible, here are some ideas to get you started.

There are many ways grief may surprise you. Our response varies depending on the meaning we make of our loss, our own personal characteristics, the type of death, and the quality of our social support.

If you experience feelings so intensely or for so long that you or others become alarmed by your reaction, you need to seek professional help.